① SEMI forecasts that global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales will grow for the fifth consecutive year, reaching a record high of USD 229.5 billion in 2028; ② Artificial intelligence is driving spending growth across the entire semiconductor industry, spanning CPUs, memory, and back-end packaging and testing segments; ③ China, Taiwan Province of China, and South Korea are the top three regions globally in terms of equipment spending, with China maintaining its leading position.
Caixin News, July 15 (Editor: Ma Lan) — The Semiconductor Equipment and Materials International (SEMI) released its 'Mid-Year Semiconductor Equipment Market Forecast – OEM Perspective' on Tuesday, projecting that global semiconductor manufacturing equipment sales will rise for the fifth straight year, reaching USD 229.5 billion by 2028.
Demand driven by artificial intelligence is reshaping investment patterns in semiconductor manufacturing, with significant capital flowing into AI infrastructure, advanced logic chips, memory, and back-end technologies such as packaging. This year, global original equipment manufacturer (OEM) sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment are expected to reach a record USD 165.9 billion, an increase of 23.2% year-over-year.
Ajit Manocha, President and CEO of SEMI, stated that artificial intelligence is accelerating demand for more powerful and energy-efficient chips, thereby fueling investment growth in the semiconductor equipment market.
Report Details
By segment, wafer fabrication equipment recorded sales of USD 116.9 billion last year—a record high—and is projected to grow by 23.1% to reach USD 143.9 billion by 2026. This segment includes wafer processing, photomask/reticle, and fab equipment, and this forecast represents a significant upward revision from SEMI’s previous outlook.
As manufacturers accelerate capacity expansion and technology migration, SEMI forecasts that sales in this segment will increase by 21.8% in 2027 and by 14.1% in 2028, surpassing the USD 200 billion mark.
Back-end equipment is also thriving. Semiconductor test equipment sales, after surging by 55.3% in 2025, are expected to grow by 31.0% in 2026 to reach USD 15.3 billion—substantially higher than SEMI’s prior forecast for end-2025—and further expand to USD 20.8 billion by 2028.
At a more granular level, packaging equipment sales, following a 20.8% increase in 2025, are projected by SEMI to grow by 9.6% in 2026, reaching USD 6.7 billion—largely in line with previous forecasts. This growth momentum is expected to continue through 2028, primarily driven by increasing device complexity, the widespread adoption of advanced heterogeneous packaging technologies, and rising industry demands for performance and reliability.
Additionally, with the 2-nanometer process node gradually entering mass production, SEMI estimates that foundry and CPU manufacturing equipment sales will grow by 18.9% this year to reach USD 78 billion, and exceed USD 100 billion by 2028. The memory market is projected to grow by 39% this year to USD 13.9 billion and reach USD 20.8 billion by 2028.
By region, mainland China, Taiwan, and South Korea will rank as the top three areas in terms of equipment spending, with mainland China maintaining its leading position. Taiwan will primarily benefit from advanced capacity expansion in artificial intelligence and high-performance computing, while South Korea will increase its investments in memory-related technologies.